Dogfish Head Craft Brewery- Aprihop: Spring Seasonal Sensation
Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 5:56PM | by Jason 
Typically I’m not a fan of the fruit beers but Wes was telling me that I had to try this seasonal monster from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. One, because it’s an IPA and Two, it’s from Dogfish Head and we all know that they are one of the top Craft breweries in the good ol’ US of A. Lucky for me Wes set an Aprihop aside for me to review and that’s what I’m going to do.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery classifies this beer as an American India Pale Ale (IPA) and their website describes Aprihop as, “Aprihop is our fruit beer for hopheads!
It is an American IPA brewed with Pilsner and Crystal malts massively hopped in in the continuous fashion. The flavor is complimented by the addition of Apricots.
After fermentation the beer is dry hopped with irresponsible amounts of Amarillo hops. The beer is hoppy in the aroma with the apricots playing a supporting complimentary role.
The flavor is rich with late hop flavors and it's bitterness is tempered by just the right amount of malt sweetness and fruity undertones from the apricots.
This is one of our most popular seasonal beers and we've been brewing it each spring for quite a while now. We release the beer each March and you should find it on the shelves through May.”
Aprihop pours an Orange/Amber color with a 1 ½” beige head and has a hoppy/tangy citrus aroma with apricot undertones and is 7.0% ABV.
I really shouldn’t be surprised that Aprihop is simply amazing. Don’t let the name fool you. This is way less of a fruit beer and more of a great IPA with huge flavor in which the apricots compliment the taste as oppose to dominate it. Aprihop starts with a caramel malt sweetness that transitions to a hoppy bite where the apricots make a subtle appearance then finishes with more of a citrus bite that disappears quick yet crisp. Because this is a seasonal brew from the folks at Dogfish Head, make sure you get out and find some before it’s gone. If you can’t get your hands on some…you are missing a truly unique Craft Beer experience.
ABV: 7.0%
Consumed: Nonic Pint Glass
Verdict: Buy A Case
